The first three divisional playoff games featured home favorites winning tight contests with toughness and brilliance while underdogs battled to graceful, hard-fought and honorable defeat.
The Patriots' 35-31 win over the Ravens was a tactical masterpiece for both teams. The Packers' 26-21 victory over the Cowboys pitted two banged-up quarterbacks against each other in the wintry mud with their reputations on the line; both the quarterbacks and their teammates responded with grit and resilience in an unpredictable, back-and-forth battle. The Panthers gave the Seahawks everything they had in a 31-17 loss that was closer than the score.
Everybody had something to be proud of.For a grand finale, the Colts upset the Broncos 24-13 in a game that may someday be remembered as a changing of the guard and the first step toward upheaval of the AFC status quo.
If you came away from any of these games with snarky, prefabricated opinions—Tony Romo choked again; Cam Newton is a quitter; Joe Flacco is not elite; the refs cheated the Cowboys with a week-late makeup call; Peyton Manning has always stunk, and now we just have more proof—then you are just not watching the games right. Adjust your television. Maybe sit a few inches further away, like your grandma once warned you to. Perhaps drink a little less.The NFL served up two classics, a resounding upset and one lost-cause battle that provided enough drama and highlights to keep Saturday night entertaining. It was two days of awesome. And you probably watched every moment of it.
Unless you are a fan of one of the four losing teams, the whole weekend was supposed to rekindle your football love, all the way back to the trail-of-rose-petals-to-the-boudoir stage. If it did not, again, call your cable provider or your psychologist and make sure everything is hooked up the way it's supposed to be.
Since we all saw the same stuff, and because I wrote a pull-out column on Aaron Rodgers' rise to immortality, I will keep the Hangover observations to a minimum. We have coaching news and other topics to cover. But let's tackle a few big ideas.It's too early to declare an end to the Peyton Manning era. But we need to be clear-eyed: Manning was the worst quarterback on any field this weekend.
You can argue that Newton was worse, with two interceptions and a lost fumble. Newton was facing the NFL's best defense with no wide receivers and an offensive line full of guys no one has ever heard of; he had to scramble, improvise and struggle. Manning faced a pretty good defense with a healthy line and a full complement of weapons. He stunk.
Manning was a little vague and cryptic after the game, stating that he still planned to return for 2015 but hinting that his health or other factors might sway his resolve. It is hard to imagine exactly what the end of the Manning era, or the Tom Brady era, will look like.
Y.A. Tittle knelt in the end zone, breathless and despondent, after throwing the pick-six that signaled the end of the line. Brett Favre endured beating after beating until we wished we could throw in the towel ourselves. Maybe it all ends in a teary press conference while hoisting the Lombardi Trophy, confetti everywhere, going out on top. Maybe a five-interception nightmare that forces a coach's hand.
But perhaps it will all just end by degrees: A typically great season becoming suddenly ordinary late in the year, followed by a season on the fringe of Pro Bowl quality, followed by a rickety victory lap around the NFL, the last few salutes directed toward the bench.
Manning spent Sunday overthrowing receivers. Sometimes, for variety, he underthrew them. His deep passes lacked accuracy and wobbled in the air, as if thrown with all his might. Short passes over the middle sometimes skipped behind their targets. The Broncos' passing game was dysfunctional, and there were no Seahawks defenders around to take credit for it.
Many, many Manning seasons ended like this, with ruminations about his future in the wake of a disappointing playoff performance. But Manning did not throw interceptions into the face of defensive trickery or a vicious blitz Sunday. He threw the football poorly, in decent weather, against a superficially straightforward game plan.
Source http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2325439-mike-taniers-monday-morning-hangover-weekend-of-upsets-and-classics
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